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The defending champion can retain his title without dropping a set in the fortnight

Roger Federer and Marin Cilic were both in The Maldives on vacation at the end of November, following the 2017 ATP World Tour season.

“I didn't want to bother him. He didn't want to bother me,” Federer recalled following his semi-final on Friday. “After two days, he wrote me: ‘I'm here, too, in case you want to catch up and stuff, let me know’.”

Federer Cilic
Photo Credit: Marin Cilic
The pair practised twice for 45 minutes and even got together for drinks with their families.

“It's great fun. No coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on the court hitting balls,” Federer said. “It was just nice and laid back, to get to know the man behind the tennis player.”

Now the setting will be on Rod Laver Arena instead of a tropical island and the stakes will be infinitely higher, as the Swiss attempts to claim his 20th Grand Slam title and retain his Australian Open trophy against Cilic, who defeated Federer en route to his lone major triumph at the 2014 US Open.

“It would be amazing,” said Federer, who can join Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson as the only players to win six Australian Open titles. “I can't believe how fast now the week has turned out to be. Yeah, I mean, it ain't just an easy trip to the finals. There's always a lot of work that goes into it during the tournament.”

But with that being said, the World No. 2 has been impressive, advancing to the final without dropping a set. Federer can join Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg atop the record book by winning a Grand Slam without losing a set three times. The Swiss could become the first to do it in Melbourne.

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Federer vs Cilic

Cilic will be a tough test, though. The 29-year-old beat top-seeded Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals one round after taking out No. 10 seed Pablo Carreno Busta in a three-hour, 27-minute battle. The right-hander can become the ninth man in the Open Era to oust the top two seeds at a Grand Slam if he defeats Federer. Only four have accomplished the feat at the Australian Open.

And if Cilic earns the title, becoming the first Croatian to do so, he will avenge a loss against Federer in the 2017 Wimbledon final. Cilic was once again in form, defeating four seeds en route to the final, but blisters hampered his chances against the now 19-time Grand Slam champion.

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“I'm not looking at it as a revenge. I mean, it was on me that I couldn't give my best in Wimbledon. And that happens,” Cilic said. “But for me it's great to again be in the final, giving myself another opportunity to win a Grand Slam. I'm playing very good tennis, and definitely very excited for the rest of 2018.”

Cilic will have to continue playing at a high level to have a chance against Federer, who leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-1.